Chapter 24

CHAPTER24

“Mary, do you think that… something is amiss with my brother and Julia?”

Mary looked up from the book she had borrowed from the library of Colman Park and smiled at her friend. Selina looked curious and worried, an interesting mix of emotions, she would say so herself.

The weather was rather lovely that afternoon, and Andrew had just invited Julia out for a walk earlier. It was thoroughly unexpected, but what made it even more bizarre was that her sister actually accepted his invitation without much protest.

“You and Mama have come to me with the same question.” Mary chuckled.

Selina’s brow furrowed. “And?”

“And I will tell you what I told her.” Mary shrugged slightly. “That the relationship between my sister and the Marquess of Trowbridge has always been… strange.”

“Strange?” The Duchess sighed as she sat down beside the younger of the Lewis sisters. “I would welcome a break in the monotony of life if it did not involve Andrew and my best friend.”

Mary smiled as she glanced at her. “Well, it has always been strange—whatever they have between them—so I have learned to accept that whatever they do is bound to surprise us all.”

“Somehow, that does not seem comforting.”

“And yet, it just feels like everything is falling into place, does it not?”

Selina pursed her lips. “Perhaps. But I do not know. Not really. And I might not have cared so much if it had been anyone else, but this is Julia and Andrew.”

Mary reached out with a sympathetic hand and patted her shoulder gently. “And that is because you care about the both of them.”

“More than my brother deserves, to be certain.”

Mary laughed softly. “Well, I cannot say I can relate much to that as I have only Julia and not a single brother—to our parents’ everlasting dismay.”

“To be honest, I think that Mother would have vastly preferred Andrew to have been born female, but I do not think that Father would have liked it.” Selina wrinkled her nose. “She claims that it is much harder to marry him off compared to the efforts she exerted on my marriage.”

“I think Lord Trowbridge would beg to differ.”

Selina flushed a little. “Well, he was not too fond of the idea of my marrying his best friend either.”

As Mary recalled, the Marquess of Trowbridge had not been fond of any of the men who expressed an interest in his younger sister. Julia had often complained that if Andrew had not been away for the better part of last year, William and Selina would never have gotten closer, and her best friend would have been doomed to spinsterhood, all thanks to her overprotective brother.

Now, Mary found it amusing that Lord Trowbridge was caught in some romantic tangle himself!

Really, London never lacks for entertainment!And I would much rather observe everything from the sidelines instead of risking my neck on the dance floor.

“I think they both will be all right,” Mary said in a soft but firm voice. “But first, they will need to trust each other, and knowing Julia, that will be quite hard.”

Julia might be known for her bold, flirtatious nature, but no one knew just how scared she was—except her shy, unassuming younger sister. Why, if Julia was not so scared of a lifetime of commitment, she would not have turned Lord Cosby away. The man was already considered a very good catch, and there were many who regarded her with envy.

If Julia had been as shallow as the rest of them, she would have been married by now and rubbing it in everyone’s faces. Instead, she was running around frantically, trying to shake off the persistent Viscount.

“Oh, there they are!” Mary heard Selina exclaim.

She looked up to find Julia and Andrew walking in through the door. Julia’s cheeks were a little flushed, and although the couple looked rather stiff to be courting, Mary could see how Julia’s body leaned towards Andrew and how he was standing protectively beside her.

Mary could not help but laugh inwardly at the awkward picture they presented—the tempestuous flirt looking flustered from something more than just a promenade in the gardens, and the charming gentleman looking as if he was ready to brawl with anyone who even dared to look at Julia the wrong way.

Yes, Mary was known amongst the ton as a wallflower, but there were things that she could see that most eyes would overlook.

And this time, she actually liked what she saw.

* * *

Julia had never had a more awkward walk in her entire existence, and she had been invited for a significant amount of them by more gentlemen than she cared to remember. There were gentlemen who waxed poetic on those brief promenades while there were some others who clammed up so badly that she feared they would have a fit or something. There were also some who wanted to take liberties with her, and those were the ones who quickly taught her to defend herself and her honor.

And then, there was Andrew.

They had spent most of the afternoon casting sideways glances at each other, engaging in stilted conversation. Underneath her gloves, her knuckles had turned white from holding her parasol too tightly, and she had even caught sight of him clenching and unclenching his hand a couple of times.

All that stopped when they reached the cover of the trees, and he pulled her in for a searing kiss that still had her reeling.

Her parasol had fallen to the ground, forgotten, as her hands went up to return his kiss with equal fervor. Her fingers speared through his hair as his tongue delved into her mouth. Taking. Plundering.

And she gave it all to him willingly.

How they returned to the gardens looking as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened was a feat in itself. She had leaned onto his arm a little more than usual, her knees still weak, and he had been smiling like the proverbial cat who got to the whole jar of cream.

Julia sighed as she sat down on the upholstered chair and poured herself some tea. Her mouth still felt dreadfully parched even after Andrew had escorted her back to the parlor where Mary and Selina were enjoying their afternoon tea.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Selina looking at her with great interest while her sister continued to peruse her book with an air of mild interest.

She pursed her lips and set the teapot down. “All right, Selina. Out with it. I know you have been dying to say something since I walked through the door.”

“Since you and my brother walked through the door!” Selina corrected.

Julia shrugged. “So, we went out for a walk.”

“And both of you came back unharmed.”

“I did not realize that grievous bodily harm was a requisite outcome.”

Selina huffed. “Come now, Julia, dear. You know that all of Colman Park has been looking on with bated breath, wondering if the two of you are courting.”

If all of Colman Park is wondering about that, then the gossip will be that we are already betrothed.

“Well, I would not say that we are,” Julia replied with a teasing smile. “I dare not assume when a gentleman has that specific intention until he verbalizes it, of course.”

“Of course.” Selina did not look convinced, though.

“Perhaps what my dear sister means to say,” Mary interjected with an easy smile, “is that she dares not get ahead of herself, lest she be disappointed.”

“Exactly—what? No!” A horrified look crossed Julia’s face. “Why would I be disappointed?”

Her sister merely smiled back. “Why, indeed?”

Selina sat back on the sofa, looking more than just a little dumbfounded. “I have never seen a more convoluted courtship—and that is coming from someone with an experience of something just as confounding.”

Indeed. Why cannot these matters proceed simply?

Well, there was Lord Cosby, and he was rather straightforward, but Julia just could not imagine becoming his Viscountess. The very thought of it made her shudder—and not in a pleasurable way.

Nothing at all like the way Andrew made her shudder and shiver.

“Are you still confused about how you feel about Andrew?” Selina asked gently.

Julia looked at her best friend helplessly. The truth of the matter was that she knew she was already falling for Andrew Walford, that her heart—against better judgment—wanted him and not Lord Cosby or any other gentleman. But she also knew that none of this was real, and to lose herself in her feelings was only setting herself up for a harder fall once it was all over.

“Can anyone really be sure?” she muttered instead. “Your brother is certainly not easy to love.”

“Yes, but neither was William,” Selina pointed out with a little chuckle. “And we all know how well that turned out for me.”

“Your husband is different, dearest.”

“Oh, hardly.” The Duchess of Barrington pursed her lips in annoyance. “You have all seen what I went through with that man.”

Mary smiled and shook her head. “He put you through so much because he thought he was protecting you.”

“And then, I put him through a lot because I was protecting my own heart.”

And yet, in spite of all the hardships they had gone through with their courtship, Julia could see how much Selina loved the cold, arrogant Duke of Barrington, and Julia could see that Selina would not have traded any of that heartbreak for anything in the world.

Julia was not so sure she could be as strong as Selina in that aspect.

She put on what she thought was a cheerful smile, one that she hoped was as mischievous and as audacious as she wished she felt inside.

“Well, if Lord Trowbridge is sincere enough, perhaps I can be persuaded to change my mind,” she said with a shrug. “But for now, I think I would much rather enjoy myself!”

With that declaration grating against her heart, she helped herself to one of the tiny cakes and pretended to enjoy it thoroughly, if only so that she might avoid further inquiries from her best friend.

She knew that Selina was only concerned about her. After all, the relationship between Julia and Andrew had always been fraught with tension, and for the longest time, even Julia herself thought that they were akin to oil and water, night and day—that the two of them simply did not suit, and a match between them could only end in disaster.

Now, however, she found herself longing to be with him every single moment. Her heart would beat erratically in her chest the moment he walked into a room. She did not even have to see him—she could already feel his presence.

And that was to say nothing of his touch which sent such a delicious thrill down her spine that she was afraid she would burst into flames if his hand so much as brushed against hers.

“I daresay we should not push my sister when she is not yet ready,” Mary remarked softly with a sympathetic glance at her sister. “Some of the best things take time, I have noticed. However…”

Julia looked up at her with a frown. “However, what?”

“However, Mama should have heard of the gossip by now, and rest assured, she will be on her way, demanding to know what is afoot.” Mary looked at her older sister pointedly. “I suggest you have an answer ready for our dear mother and one that should satisfy her. Otherwise, you can rest assured that she will not let the matter rest.”

Julia grimaced as she sipped her tea. She had thought of how best to tell her mother, of course. Lady Powell would never believe it if Julia told her outright that she was courting the Marquess of Trowbridge. Her mother would only think she was still trying to get away from Lord Cosby—which she actually was.

Earlier in the gardens, she and Andrew had decided to come out with the truth later that evening after dinner. However, it was just as much of a formality as Mary said that the other guests had already speculated on their closeness.

Julia only hoped that Andrew was good at lying about their courtship—good enough to just make Lady Powell believe in its veracity and good enough to dissuade Lord Cosby from doggedly pursuing Julia’s hand in marriage.

And if it turns out to be true, I would not mind it so badly at all.

She had never been one to delude herself, but with Andrew, she found herself wishing things were somehow different.